> mandate out for people to be more "creative"
A tough sell in a place where the possession of even a tiny amount of marijuana is punishable by caning and long imprisonment.
A tough sell in a place where the possession of even a tiny amount of marijuana is punishable by caning and long imprisonment.
Smart, creative people are, by and large, allergic to authoritarianism. Draconian rules around possession of soft drugs like cannabis are useful proxies for measuring a state's authoritarianism.
One of the things i found interesting about Singapore's censorship is that it's completely open. It is not itself secret, or a taboo subject. When i was there, i stumbled across an exhibition by local artists that was all about a major obscenity/censorship case in the 1980s that had had a big impact on the artistic community. The exhibition was in a public gallery, and i think had even been supported with public funds.
Have a look at this recent case where a teen blogger was jailed for making offensive remarks against Christianity, and for circulating obscene imagery. [2]
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OB_marker
[2] http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/teen-blogger-a...
If people leave Singapore, it's probably for education or work. I highly doubt people are leaving because they have easier access to drugs in other countries.